Young Mal Anthology
by NCB1
Summary: This is an anthology of "Young Mal" stories that I wrote a few years ago. She only gets one line in the series, but Mal's Ma was a very important character so I got into her head a bit.
1. Chapter 1

Margaret Reynolds shifted the bundle of blankets in her arms. The protesting cry of a baby hit her ears as the bundle settled. The crying stopped as she gently cooed to her newborn son.

Well, one little crisis solved she thought as her son Malcolm finally went to sleep, but I've got bigger ones to think about. She tenderly put him in his crib next to her bed and tucked him under the blankets to keep out the cold.

'I've got to make some decisions. I didn't think I'd be in this position a few weeks ago. I had a lovin' husband, a ranch on its way to being prosperous after a lot of hard work and a baby getting ready to be born.

I'm truly alone now. You're lyin' there buried under the trees and I shot and killed a man I don't have any regrets about that but I miss you horribly.

We have a son. I wish you could see him Tom. He has a full head of hair and I already love to run my hand through it like I did yours. It's dark right now but I know that it will end up brown.

I named him Malcolm for my Pa like we talked about. Wish Pa could see him too. First Pa dying, then you. I'm having a hard time, losing both of you so close together but I gotta hang on for little Malcolm.

His eyes are blue, just like yours. I'm so glad about that. I can see you every time I look at his face, even if it's scrunched up in a cry. And he cries a lot. Been around baby animals and other peoples babies all my life but havin' one of my own is quite a shock. You wouldn't believe the work it takes.

I was thinkin' about sellin' the ranch and moving back to town. Maybe startin' up Pa's store again but I just couldn't do it. This ranch is all I have left of you and all I have for Malcolm. I'm goin' to try to make a go of it. Don't know if it'll work but I'm going to make an effort. I promise you that he'll grow up strong and to love this ranch.

I haven't had a wave from your folks since they sent the one tellin' me that they weren't comin' to your funeral. I sorta expected it the way they treated us when we got married, but little Mal is their grandson. Don't know if they'll ever want to see him but I doubt it."

Her son's whimpering broke Meg's reverie. She went, picked him up and walked him around a bit.

"Hi, there little Malcolm. You've got a lot to learn. A ranch is hard work and we have lots of things to do tomorrow. Runnin' a ranch is hard work."


	2. Chapter 2

Malcolm Reynolds sighed. He was bored. The lessons that his Ma had planned for the day looked like a mountain and he could hear the birds chirping outside and feel the warmth of the sun through the window

Spring had come to Shadow after a long, cold winter and all he wanted was to be outside, preferably with the hands doing anything except sitting inside doing school work. Riding through the hills on Lucy, his cowpony. Letting the sunshine warm his head as he galloped Lucy to the far side of the ranch. Maybe even take a dip in the creek if it wasn't too cold.

Mal shifted in his chair and tried mightily to concentrate on the book that he was reading. His Ma had insisted that he continue his education once he graduated from the local school. She'd added subjects that would help him run the ranch some day. Gorram accounting hurt his head, but history wasn't too bad, it was more like the stories that she had told him since he was a little boy.

Just don't mention science and math at all. He couldn't see how they would help him run the ranch at all. But the stars, oh the stars. When they twinkled in the clear sky whey beckoned and teased him at the same time. He was fascinated with them and spent countless hours up on the roof of the house at night looking at them and wondering about them.

He mentally counted the days until spring roundup. Just three weeks to go. This year he was going to spend the whole week out with the hands instead of just a day here and there because of school. Long days in the saddle followed by a hearty dinner and being so tired that he'd instantly fall asleep despite sleeping on the ground underneath the starry sky.

"Mal, Mal, you finished with that poem?" his Ma called from the kitchen. The aroma of a roast cooking in the oven drifted into the room where Mal had things spread out on a table.

"Yes, Ma. But I want to how will a poem about a ship's captain and a bird called an albatross help me run the ranch?


	3. Chapter 3

Mal knew he was in for it even before his unsteady foot hit the first step. The lights were on in the kitchen and that meant that his ma was still awake. He put a booted foot gingerly the step and tried to put his weight on it. The wooden step groaned under the weight of an almost but not quite grown 16 year old, drunk for the first time.

The party had been held at the Carter's, to celebrate the engagement of their daughter Susan, to the Jones boy. Tommy Jones was just 19 and the oldest member of the group that had been friends since childhood. He was also the first of the group to get engaged.

Mal's Ma had left the party early as she had to get up early in the morning to bake some of her amazing pies for the church picnic the next day. Mal had been given permission to stay late, with the promise that he wouldn't get into any trouble.

Trouble came. Tommy spent quite a while behind the barn late in the evening receiving the congratulations and ribald advice of his friends. Several small bottles of home brew appeared and were passed around generously to everyone, despite most of them being under age.

The talk got more and more bawdy as time as the level of the liquid in the bottles went down. Actually, not much was drunk, but the effects hit the inexperienced boys fast and hard. Within an hour all were inebriated to some extent. To top it off, a friendly shoving match had erupted fueled by the alcohol. Mal had gotten about half a bottle poured on his shirt front by Tommy when he tripped over the feet of another of his friends.

Soon after the party ended and Mal was able to hide the fact that he was drunk on the wagon ride home. The bouncing though, over the rutted road between the ranches had made his stomach start to turn flips. He was able to contain things until he got to his own front porch steps.

His head spinning and his stomach rebelling. Mal quickly decided that stocking feet were the way to go. That way he may just be able to sneak by the door of the kitchen without his mother knowing. As he tried to ease himself down on the first step to pull his boots off, he suddenly went down with a thud and sprawled half on and half off the bottom step.

The front door opened with a squeak and then a bang as the door slammed shut. The foot steps of his Ma sounded like thunder to his sensitive head. "You OK?" His mother said as she hurried out of the house the door not closing entirely. Her house coat was flapping in the cool breeze of the evening. She leaned down and looked at her son with concern.

"I'mm OK, jus' fell down. Thought I'd take my boots off befor' I went inside. Didyn't want to wake yah."

"Whew, what's that smell comin' off of you? You smell like a still. What's goin' on?" Her voice matched the scowl on her face.

"Just a little celebratin'. You know. Tommy's getting' married"

"I think more than a little celebratin' went on from what I can smell. First of all got to get ya' in the house. Come on... "

Meg tried to pull her lanky son upright but his dead weight made it almost impossible. Mal tried mightily to help but his legs just wouldn't cooperate.

First she pulled, then she pushed and several attempts later Mal was finally standing.

"That's right, one foot on the step. Hang on to the rail and I'll be on the other side. Pull the other foot up.. just one more to go."

"I'm OK, Ma." The silly grin on his face told her that he definitely wasn't feeling any pain and wouldn't for a while.

As they came into the front parlor Meg said. " Sit down on the sofa, Been a long time since I tried to carry you and you were a mite smaller then too."

All of a sudden Mal grabbed his Ma with one hand around her waist and the other hand in his large one. He spun her around like they had been dancing all evening. Meg was breathless. She hadn't been swung around like that in years, much less by her son.

All of a sudden he let her go and plopped down on the sofa with a thump. "See, I made it." His grin even goofier if that was possible. "Made it into the house. Gotta go to bed. Up early in the morning for chorrsss."

"Yes, you do have chores in the morning. And add weedin' the garden to your list."

"What? That'll take moft of the day. The picnic's tomorrow. I promised Becky I'd eat her apple pie. She makes the best pie." he said whistfully. "Pie's so good. So sweet, so nice, so soft." His voice trailed off.

"Don't think you're talkin' 'bout pie, young man. And you won't be going to any church picnic. You're a bit too big for a whippin' so it's weedin' the garden for you. I think you need a cup of coffee, it'll take bit of the edge off"

Meg left the parlor for the kitchen and put the water on to boil. Right as she poured the coffee, she head a retching sound coming from the front parlor.

"Mal, you OK?" Meg ran into the front parlor to see Mal leaning over, vomiting all over the couch. Don't think you're goin' anywhere. Let me go get a rag to clean you up with."

All Mal could manage was a weak smile as she went back into the kitchen. His stomach started to revolt again. Right as she returned with a pail and wet rags, his stomach let loose again and he doubled over. As soon as it was over she cleaned him up and he sat back on a clean place on the couch, exhausted from the vomiting and scared to move a muscle, lest it start all over again.

"You're goin' to be OK. You ain't the first young man to get carried away when the bottle gets passed and won't be the last. It just better be the last time 'fore you're of age." She ran her fingers through the brown hair on his forehead lovingly. "You're growin' up too fast. 'Fore I know it you'll be the one getting' married, then havin' children and makin' me feel way too old. Just take your time. You're only young once." She was quiet for a few moments, just listening to him. "You a bit better now?"

"I think I can get to my room."

"You need any help?"

"No, I think I can get to my room by myself." Mal crossed the foyer and put his first foot on the steps to his room. He looked much steadier than when he first entered the house.

"Remember to weed the garden tomorrow. It's big but not too bad. If you get done in time, come on down to the church picnic. You never know. There may be a slice of apple pie left."


	4. Chapter 4

Mal had just turned 18 that fall.. The Alliance had made selling cattle and shipping the processed beef off world almost impossible due to excessive tariffs. Commerce between Shadow and other planets and moons came to a standstill after the blockade of the shipping lanes from Shadow to the Core planets.

The few transport ships that ran the blockade were full of guns, ammunition, medical supplies and other necessities. They were bound for stockpiles on various Border and Rim worlds and were then sold by unscrupulous dealers at very inflated prices to whoever had the coin to afford them.

The Shadow militia had been actively recruiting men and women for a year. Mal had joined that summer, without telling his Ma. She didn't want her son training to be a soldier. She wanted him to run the ranch with her and eventually take over. Find a nice girl, get married and start a family of his own.  
But Meg Reynolds knew the seriousness of the situation. She believed as deeply in the cause as her son, so she only made a token protest when Mal informed her that he had started going to the militia "meetings" since June.

The situation between the Assembly of Shadow and the Assemblies of the other so called "Independent" planets and moons and the Parliament of the Allied planets deteriorated even further during the fall. War was the topic of everyone's conversation at every gathering place, the dinner table, and the stores in town. Weapons appeared everywhere and were worn with pride and determination.

Preparations for Christmas that year were subdued to say the least. The ranch just couldn't support as many cattle as it once did because of the Alliance blockade. The ranch had a third of the number of hands it usually had and more would have to be let go soon. They were able though, to sell a small number of cattle for planet side consumption so things were just on the right side of desperate.

Christmas Eve service was normal enough except that afterwards small groups of men and women stayed outside the church for over an hour talking in the cold night air. Conversations, especially among the young people, quickly changed from pleasantries and small town gossip to wondering when the Assembly would get off their collective pi gus and declare war against the Alliance.

Christmas Day dawned bright and clear. Mal hurried thru his morning chores and by the time he had finished his Ma had his usual breakfast on the table. There was a biggish package done up in plain wrapping paper sitting beside Mal's plate of eggs and toast.

"Ma, what's that?"

"It's just a little present for you. I want you to open it as soon as breakfast is done. You can open it before you start cleanin' the dishes."

Without eating a bite Mal reached for the package. He brought the package up to his ear and tossed it around a bit, trying to determine what was in it. As he shook it he had a puzzled look on his face.

Mal then attacked the paper, tearing it off in one big piece. He opened the box and stared down at its contents with his mouth open. It quickly changed to a wide grin as he reached down inside and pulled out the contents.  
"What are you doin' son?" she said with a bit of irritation. "I told you to eat first."  
"But Ma, I can't wait"  
"You never could wait for anything, you're just gotta have your way." She shook her head with exasperation.  
"Go ahead then. Open it up."  
Mal grinned broadly as he looked into the package.  
"I figure a man who is defending his land needs a proper weapon." His Ma said with determination.

Mal pulled out the shinnest holster and belt he'd ever seen. It was utilitarian but beautifully crafted. He immediately knew it was the work of Johnny Lee, who had a small leather shop in town. Johnny crafted the best leather goods on Shadow.

As he held the holster he saw that a pistol rested in it, ready for use. It was obviously not new but had been well taken care of.

As he pulled the gun from the holster and made sure the chamber was empty he said, "This is the best Christmas present I've ever gotten," he said, grinning. "Since I got Lucy," he added hastily

He looked up to his Ma's eyes with gratitude. "Where did you get the pistol? I don't remember seeing it."

"It was your Pa's. He bought it when he first came to Shadow from Londinium and moved out here."

Mal knew she had kept a gun in her bedside table but had never gotten a close look at it.

"Let me tell you the story behind this pistol. It protected you before you were born. I'm hoping it'll protect you again. You know your Pa was killed right before you were born but you don't know everything.

Your Pa was the younger son of a family from Londinium. Tom didn't expect much of an inheritance, as he didn't get on with his folks as well as his older bother did. Tom wanted to travel the 'verse. They wanted him in to take a nice desk job in the Core, marry a proper debutante, preferably one with the right family, connections and money and raise proper grandchildren. He left Londium right after he finished the University. He gallivanted around the 'verse for a while and he somehow ended up on Shadow and for some reason decided it was time to try his hand at cattle ranching.  
Poor Tom didn't know much about ranching at first." she said with a little laugh.  
"He came to my Pa and asked for help picking out a small herd for the land he had just bought. Since your Grandpa was the general store owner he knew just about every rancher in the area.

They toured the local ranches and finally got together a decent herd. I had been doing the books for the store so I saw him almost every day for three months. We started talking 'bout things, I offered to help him with the ranch books and we ended up spending' more and more time together…"she trailed off wistfully.  
People started talking 'bout us and wonderin' when the wedding going to be. He was working from sun up to sun down with the few hands he could afford to hire. He nearly worked himself to death trying to get the ranch going."  
Finally after 'bout a year he wanted to talk to Pa alone. He came out of the store just grinnin' like a cat that had gotten a mouse.  
The next day he took me out and showed me around the house that had just been finished. One of the previous lines I would cut, it's redundant. I like the I've never seen…better. Kept showing me all the tiny details. Afterwards we walked down to the lake with a picnic basket, he sat me down on a log and proceeded to get down on one knee and ask me to marry him. He was so nervous and I guess I looked shocked because he asked me again. I had to practically shout yes.  
We got married a couple of weeks later. His family weren't too pleased about him stayin' and marryin' me. They didn't come for the weddin' and we didn't hear much from them ever again.

We worked ourselves to the bone but the ranch doubled in size and inside of two yeas we had twelve hands. The beef had gotten a reputation and the restaurants of the Core kept wanting more and more so we kept raisin' more and more.  
Then your Pa got shot." She paused and tried to collect herself.

"It was the evening after payday for the hands. Ulysses O'Rourke had been caught drunk again by Chi Linn, so Tom fired him that afternoon. Ulysses skulked to town like the vermin he was.

I don't know for sure but I was told later that Ulysses, drank or gambled away all of his pay that night. And he was talkin' about getting back at Tom for firing him for no reason.

Ulysses got to the house about 3 am. Neither of us heard him come up the stairs to the door. All of a sudden we woke up to hear some hun duhn a poundin' on the door.  
Your Pa wouldn't let me get outta bed, me carrying you and you just about ready to pop out. Before I knew what was happenin' I heard Tom and Ulysses arguin' and for some reason I'll never know I picked up the pistol that you're holdin' right now.  
All of a sudden I heard a shot and I knew somethin' bad had happened. Tom was on the floor with a shot to the gut. And oh my, was he bleeding all over the place," she finished, her voice breaking with emotion.  
"I started out the bedroom door and Ulysses swung his gun over toward me. I don't know what came over me but I squeezed the trigger. Now, I'm a pretty fair shot but I gotta aim. This time it happened so fast that I don't know what happened. I hit him square in the chest. He slumped to the floor and he died right there.

Tom was so still" she said in an anguished voice, still full of emotion after all these years. "I begged him to stay with me. I didn't know how to live without him.  
I think I held him for what felt like five hours but was more likely five minutes. Some time in that five minutes he took one breath, let it out and I felt him just go all limp. I kept begging him to come back to me but he didn't. The next thing I know Chi Linn and some of the hands came bustin' through the door but it was too late… just too late," she said her voice breaking a little..  
"You decided to come 2 days after your Pa's funeral. My goodness you looked just like your Pa from the get go. You came out squealing, naked and with your Pa's blue eyes. Those eyes 'bout did me in. You were the spittin' image of him.  
I put the pistol back in the bedside table and I never took it out again except to clean it.  
I thought I'd give it to you when you needed it. I figure that's now. Mal, things are bad and you're just about man grown now. It scares me sometimes that you're so like him." This is SO great here. Bravo.

She hugged Mal tightly, stepped back and put her hands on his broad shoulders so that she could look directly into his eyes.

"It's time for you to do what you have to do to protect this ranch. I hate it, but war is coming faster than I thought and you'll have to go. I've tried to keep this ranch running for you but now I don't know if I'll be able to. The Alliance has made times pretty hard. No matter where what happens remember where you came from. Just, just remember." her voice broke a bit.

She took the pistol, put it in the holster and buckled it around Mal's waist and gave him another hug.

Mal spied a tear in his mother's eye. It slid slowly out of the corner of her eye and she quickly wiped it away.

For once in his life Mal was speechless .He loved his mother so much and there was nothing he could say that could have equaled the emotions he was feeling.  
"Now eat your breakfast before it gets too cold." She turned away and started to reheat the coffee pot.

Four months later spring started to come to Shadow. Mal strapped on the holster with the pistol in it. He put on his new brown coat with the green, black and gold triangular patch on the shoulder and red scarf and left Shadow with the rest of the Shadow militia He never saw the ranch or his mother again.


	5. Chapter 5

Meg Reynolds fingered the silver cross on a ribbon around her neck as the twin Firefly transports lifted off the dock in New Jamestown, the capital city, if it could be called such, of Shadow and disappeared into the sky. The crowd that had gathered to say goodbye to the men and women of the Shadow militia slowly dispersed, leaving her standing alone with her thoughts.

It had been a grand send off. Independent flags in green, gold and black were everywhere, hanging from the dock and all the surrounding buildings. It was as if the green of the prairie cattle ranches of Shadow had mixed with the golden wheat that grew on the farms, and the black of the soil that nurtured them both.

There had been rousing speeches from the mayor of New Jamestown, the head of the Shadow Assembly and lastly Colonel Obrin, the commander of the Shadow militia. The New Jamestown Shepherd had even given a stirring talk, comparing the struggle of the Border planets and moons against the Alliance to the Biblical story of David versus Goliath along with prayers for safety and victory. Not a person there could claim that they weren't moved by the words said that day.

Meg certainly had been. Her only child, Malcolm, was on of those transports to Persephone. He was at 18, a tall, handsome, headstrong young man entirely convinced of the righteousness of the Independent cause. He had signed up with the Shadow militia at the first call for volunteers about 2 months ago, boldly announcing to his Ma that he was fully grown and honored to defend his home planet against the _hun dahn_of an Alliance that was squeezing the life out of his family's home.

Meg was as patriotic as her son, but hers was the quieter kind, tempered with experience. She had tried to raise him to be a good, God fearing man without the help of her husband, who rested underneath the trees about a quarter mile from the house. _Sweet Jesu, he looked more and more like Tom every day._

She had battled the onerous tariffs and regulations that the Alliance had imposed on trade between the Border planets and their markets in the Allied planets. She had also battled the elements that at times were dead set against the ranch and led a crew of hands that alternately needed discipline, mothering and sometimes both at the same time.

Her fingers touched the cross again, finding a small bit of comfort from the worry invading her heart. Meg wasn't one to let herself be consumed with fear, but it wormed its way there in the space of a second and lodged there, right in the middle of the organ. This dread she felt for her son wasn't the day to day worry of whether Mal would possibly get hurt on the ranch. No, this was a different fear. The fear of the unknown and of the unknowable.

Anxiety exploded in her troubled heart as a small boy ran by her shouting for his mother. Meg watched from a distance as mother and son caught up with each other and she swung him around in an embrace, triggering a flood of memories of her own son. The thought of Malcolm never coming home nearly brought her to knees, and made her feel faint. Catching him sneaking in to the kitchen to steal the last piece of apple pie, or hearing the door slam with a bang and hearing his voice demanding that she come and see the latest slimy creature from the creek behind the barn were suddenly the most beloved of memories. It lasted just for a moment; before she could get too maudlin one of the flags fluttering in the wind caught her eye and brought her back to reality with a snap. She took a deep breath, gathered herself and started to walk swiftly from the dock.

As she moved down the street, the flags flapping in the gentle breeze seemed to be telling her not to worry. Meg was overflowing with a feeling of immense pride in her son, one that filled her from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet.

He had grown up into a man in a hurry on the ranch and now he was going off to defend his home and family against horrible odds. He was leaving full of faith in God and the justness of his convictions, with his head held high and a gleam in his blue eyes.

It made her smile, just remembering the swagger that he had affected in the past week, like he was going to take on the whole Alliance and defeat them personally. The smile broadened on her face and she picked up her pace. There were things to be done in town before she returned to the ranch. Her job now, as always, was to keep the ranch together. And he would be back some day soon to run it. She knew it.


	6. Chapter 6

Dear Mal,

I received your letter the other day. You don't know how good it is to finally hear from you after such a long time. Not a minute goes by that I don't think of you and pray for your safety.

. I know that you wanted to be home by now but I'm sure that you'll be home by spring. Thank goodness you've only been in a skirmish so far. If things go well I hope that you'll be home in time to weed the garden this spring.

Chi Linn and Sophia are very anxious to hear from Maisie. They haven't heard from her since she decided to join the 1stSharpshooter Company. I too, wish that she hadn't done it and stayed in the 57th Overlanders with you. She's as headstrong as you are and likely to do something rash. If you hear from her or see her please get word back to her parents. All of us are sick with worry.

We celebrated Christmas quietly. There was a makeshift service Christmas Eve at the church as Shepherd Ambrose joined the cause about two months after you left.. I did manage to put up a tree cut from the grove where your Pa rests. Chi Linn cut it and Sophia and I decorated it as best we could, but something seemed lacking without you and Maisie here. Even the apple pies I baked just didn't taste the same without either of you here to eat them.

The ranch is surviving, but honestly, it's just getting by. I sold three quarters of the herd several months ago but I kept what Chi Linn and I considered the best. No one has any feed to spare and with feed prices so high and no one to speak of to work them, I'm putting them out to pasture.

They'll do good there. We've been lucky in that it's been a wet winter so far and the grass will be lush and green in a few months and the ponds are full so I expect that the grass will last well into summer.

The last of the hands joined the Cause a few weeks ago. Those left around here are either too old to fight or are too shiftless to trust. Occasionally someone in need of food will come and help out for a day or so in exchange for food and shelter, but out here they don't last too long before they move on.

Don't worry, we have plenty to eat. The garden is producing lots of vegetables and we have almost become vegetarians like the most observant of Buddhists except for the eggs. The chickens have been producing lots of eggs.

We even have enough to use for trade and you wouldn't believe some of the things we have traded eggs for. We've gotten all the odds and ends needed to run a ranch with eggs but the most unusual was thing was antibiotics for an infection caused by a nail that slipped and punctured Chi Linn's hand. Seems the Doc has a liking for eggs too.

I would dearly love a crispy fried chicken like we had most Sundays after church but their lives are saved because they are more valuable for their eggs than satisfying my liking for fried chicken.

Janey's colt has grown by leaps and bounds. He's tall and leggy and his black and white coloring is as loud as his grandmother Lucy. He'll be ready to start training in about six months and I'm sure he'll be at least as good as Lucy was with the cows. He'll be a good one and a good stud for breeding cow ponies. I've kept a couple of mares and several of the other ranchers around here are already looking at him to reestablish their horse herds once this unpleasantness is over..

As a late Christmas present the Alliance finally cut the Cortex link off planet. News and letters are passed by ships that are able to run the blockade and land at New Jamestown or nearby ranches if landing at the port would be too dangerous.

Word travels fast when a ship comes in. I have been appointed unofficial post master for this area so any letter you or Maisie write will be in my hands within a day or two of arriving on planet.

Becky came by on Christmas afternoon to see if I had any new news of you. She's still determined to wed you once you get back. I've tried to tell her that you may have changed somewhat but she won't listen to any of it.

She has everything planned down to the number of children you'll both have and how many will be boys and how many will be girls. It doesn't matter to her that God decides those things, among others, but there's no telling her.

I've been working on a family history for you, writing down all the Tully family stories my Pa told me over the years. It keeps me occupied during the long winter evenings. It'll be nice to have them written down for your children to read one day.

There are some mighty entertaining stories that I've haven't had a chance to tell you. Some of the stories even go back to Earth-That-Was. And there were some colorful characters in our family. One story involves some sort of cross country race. I'm fuzzy on the details as Pa didn't mention it much but it sounded exciting.

I'm just sorry I can't do the same for your Pa's side of the family. I don't think many stories were passed down in his family, if they were, they were forgotten when he left Londinium. And of course they more than likely wouldn't share them if I asked.

I do have a bit of business I need to tell you about. I've converted all the money I can into platinum, like most of the folks around here. I put it in the place that we agreed on before you left. It'll help us get the ranch going again once this war is over.

Of course I can't access the money in the ranch accounts in the Osiris Planetary Bank. As you know, those accounts were frozen at the beginning of the war and I'm not sure if we're ever going to see it again, but don't forget about them. We may be able to get to them after we win the war.

Keep your self safe. I'm praying that you come home victorious, and soon. I cling to every scrap of news so write soon.

Love,

Ma


	7. Chapter 7

_Dear Mal,_

_You don't know how much I've missed you these past weeks. It seems like you left Shadow so long ago, yet it's only been four weeks. I can't wait for this war to be over and you're home where you belong._

_Wish I could send you a 'wave, but I'm not quite sure exactly where you are on Persephone, or if you could see it anyway. Shadow still has Cortex access but we're expectin' it to be cut off any day. Maybe the Alliance keeps it up to show all us Independents what we're supposedly missing out on. I try not to look at their lies except when I have to see what's goin' on._

_Things keep goin' around the ranch. Janey had her foal 'bout two weeks ago. He's a big 'un and them black and white spots on him are sizable and loud enough for a body to see him a mile away. He looks a lot like his grandma, Lucy. His spots look just like a shadow. If he's inherited half her cow sense I'm thinkin' that he'll make a good stud for a cow pony breedin' herd you want to start when you get back. I'll start lookin' for some good mares. Of course, you'll have the last say on 'em._

_Gave a milkin' cow to the Grays. It should keep them in milk for a couple of months if they're careful. Mrs. Gray just had another daughter two days ago. That'll make 3 boys and 2 girls and Joshua Gray is out of work again. You know, he works just long enough to pay some bills, then gets a fit of vapors and quits on ya. I don't know how Virginia Gray puts up with him, but she does._

_I may end up hirein' him despite my misgivings. Only got 4 hands left, except of course for Chi Linn. The rest went and joined up during the recruitin' drive right after you left. Not sellin' any cattle to the Core and they still need to be looked after so I may sell a few head in New Johnstown just to thin the herd a bit. People need to eat somethin' and it might as well be steak._

_The vegetable garden is producin' good. The squas is ready to pick and the corn will be comin' in soon. Needs weedin' mighty bad before harvest._

_Thinkin' of that, I know you're gonna drink, especially now that you're grown now. Just don't do anything foolish like you did at the Carter's party. I know you had more whiskey spilled on you than you drank, but a 16 year old shouldn't have been drinkin' what passes for whiskey, much less coming home smellin' of it and getting' sick all over my sofa._

_I guess weddin' the whole acre was punishment enough. It was the worst I could give you short of a whippn'. Especially since you got too big for me to give you one. I tell you, I almost cried seein' you out there all dirty and sad and mad all at the same time. And missin' the picnic, but you learned your lesson didn't ya? Don't know what they do in the militia but I guess your sergeants come up with somethin' a bit more interesting than weedin' when you need it._

_Becky came over yesterday to bring me a fresh berry pie. After a few pleasantries she wouldn't stop talkin' 'bout you. It was Mal this and Mal that for over an hour. Hardly got a word in myself. She wouldn't let me alone until I promised to send her letter to you. You'll find it enclosed._

_Mal, that girl wants your ring on her finger as soon as you get back. You better watch yourself or you'll find yourself hauled in front of the Shepherd for marriage vows before you know it. Either willin' or with her daddy's shotgun pointin' at you. Becky's a sweet girl but she's no where near good enough for you. Take some time and have yourself a good look 'round. You'll know it in your soul when you find the woman that you want to settle down with._

_I've enclosed a few Credits, just in case you need it to get some sundries. I know the militia'll provide most everything, but surely you'll need to pick up a few things. If you need more, just let me know. As long as the Alliance keeps the Cortex goin' I can transfer a bit to you. That is if you're any where near a bank._

_Keep yourself safe and I'll be prayin' for you. Do all you can to get the Alliance outta our hair but come back in one piece._

_Your Ma._

_**Dear Ma,**_

_**Your letter finally got to me at the Independent training camp. We're somewhere out in the sand, quite a distance from the city. It's just sand and more sand,'cept of course for the camp.**_

_**I've never seen anything like this in my life. Militias from all the Independent planets and moons are here. Row after row of tents and lots of people. More than I've ever seen together. The most are from Hera and of course Shadow with quite a few from Persephone and other places that I ain't ever heard of before. There are even a few from the Core planets that don't like what the Alliance is doin.**_

_**The Shadow militia has been combined with the Hera militia and they are calling us the 57**__**th**__**Overlanders. I sorta like the name. We even gotta flag with the name on it. Makes us official and all.**_

_**They have us goin' from sunup to sundown. Lots of runnin' and drillin' in addition to shootin' and hand to hand fightin.' The only thing I don't like is the drill. I don't understand why we have to march pretty 'round a field to fight the Alliance. It's wasting valuable time and sometimes I can't remember my right from my left foot and I end up goin' in the wrong direction from everybody else.**_

_**The sergeant put a big red spot on my left hand to remind me which way was which. I gotta say I only needed it for an hour or two 'fore I got my feet untangled. Things went pretty smooth after that.**_

_**I'm doin' pretty good at the shootin' but Maise still beat me today, like she does every day. That girl's more than a fair shot. She told me that one of the sergeants talked to her about joinin' a unit of sharpshooters but she doesn't want to leave the rest of us. She's gotta choose by the end of this week.**_

_**The food here is lots different from what we have at home. The only hot meal we get is at the end of the day and that's mostly protein mash and a few vegetables if we're lucky. Breakfast and lunch are protein bars with maybe some of what passes for coffee at breakfast. What I wouldn't give for a nice thick steak, some homegrown vegetables out of the garden and a piece of your apple pie. I'd even weed that gorram garden for a month for the chance to eat some Shadow vegetables.**_

_**I've been thinkin' on things since I've been here. Before I left all I could think about was marryin' Becky, building a house,and expandin' the ranch. I still want to do all that, but first I gotta get rid of the gorram Alliance. Life's not worth livin' with the Alliance breathin' down our necks and poking their noses in our business.**_

_**Rumors goin' 'round is that we get to go into the city itself in a few days so that we can buy some things before we move out, so the credits are more than welcome. A few more though would be more than welcome, just to keep in my pocket.**_

_**After that I don't know where I'll be. Hopefully it'll be somewhere where we can kick the Alliance's pi gu all the way back to Londinium. Everyone is getting restless and wants to get this war over with.**_

_**I'll write you again when I can.**_

_**Mal**_


	8. Chapter 8

As a person who was not interested in parading his body around, having a pain is this rather private place was more than a bit embarrassing. How it transpired that he hurt in this particular place was also rather embarrassing. It was the fault of a girl. A little, petite girl. A little, petite girl who was a better shot at long distance than he'd ever be.

Maisie had gotten him into trouble more than once growing up on the ranch on Shadow. If she weren't the daughter of the Reynolds ranch foreman, Chi Linn, and his wife, Sophia, and his mei mei, in spirit if not in blood, he would have killed her long ago. Despite the sharp pain in his he chuckled at the thought. It was more than likely that Maisie would kill him first.

This whole thing had all started the last day of training on Persephone. Mal's squad, which included Maisie, was given leave to visit the city of Persephone itself on a eight hour pass in order to pick up sundries and let off a little steam. They were given the usual admonitions by the Shepherds not to drink or fight and to generally conduct themselves like admirable Independent soldiers. As usual with young soldiers granted freedom after a period of isolated training, this advice fell on deaf ears.

The transport had stopped in a commercial district just outside the boundary of the Eavesdown docks. The sergeant in charge of the transport came around to open the door and dispensed more last minute advice. Mal half listened as the sergeant launched into an impromptu sermon of his own. "I know you're gonna get drunk but don't get too drunk that you aren't here in eight hours. If you're not here we'll leave without you, and you'll be counted AWOL. You all know by now what that means."

"Keep an eye on each other. You can have your fun. Some of the locals here are all patriotic and will buy you more liquor than you can drink in a week once they see you in a brown coat, but some of em'll rob you blind in the space of a second."

"There ain't no Companions round here, not that any of you could attract or afford one, but there are plenty of good old fashioned working girls. Just be sure they don't cheat ya. _Dong le mah_?"

Before Mal could take in all of what the sergeant said he was playfully but viciously poked in the ribs by an elbow.

"Come on, do you want to do the shopping first, or go and do it first?" Maisie hissed.

"_Chui se_," he said affectionately, instead of poking back.

"What makes you think I'm gonna do this with you?" Mal asked.

Maisie said, " Coward, you promised"

"Mebbe I did, but what if I don't go through with it?"

"You'll do it. Because if you don't I'll tell everyone that you won't do it. I've heard that's it's a tradition from Earth-That-Was that soldiers and especially sailors come back with home with at least one. And

Becky will find out what we did on your weddin' night, if not before," Maisie taunted.

"I know, but don't mean I gotta be enthusiastic about this plan a yours. I'm only in this 'cause I promised your Pa that I'd see that you come to no harm. That's the only reason I'm gonna do it with you."

"I wonder if we should ask where one is?" Maisie asked.

"I'm sure there a lot of 'em hereabouts. There'll be signs."

A few of the other Browncoats from another squad quietly snickered at the two.

Mal gave them a threatening look and remarked quietly, "I'd keep my mouth shut, if I was you."

Another member of Mal's squad, Jonas Womble piped up quickly in a threatening voice. "You don't want to rile up Private Linn here. Not only is she the best shot in this whole daggone battalion, she's a bit of a wildcat when she uses her claws. And Mal here has quite a reputation with his fists. And if you make it through the both of them, you'll have to deal with the rest of us too."

The snickers looked quickly at each other, counted the members of Mal's squad versus the two of them and decided wordlessly that they didn't want to risk having various parts of their faces blooded before they had even gotten off the transport and quickly quieted.

The sergeant finished his sermon without knowing what had happened and stepped out of the way. The load of young soldiers headed out of the transport as fast as they could and dispersed quickly into the crowd, Mal and Maisie heading off together before the rest of their squad swept them up

Mal and Maisie wandered the streets for a while, trying not to gawk at all the strange sights, wrinkling their noses at the strong smells from the vendors that offered all sorts of exotic foods, and trying not to stare at the oddly dressed people that inhabited the dock area.

They did a little shopping. Mal wanted shaving soap and a new brush – shaving hadn't become boring yet and he was devoted to his straight razor and all its accessories. Maisie bought almond oil, useful for any number of purposes up to and including drizzling on hot cereal.

"You need any thing to drink, Mal? We can stop and get something. It's not like we're still underage, you know. I know you're not too keen on doing this." Maisie said, sounding a little concerned..

"I'm all right with this. Can't wait to do it." Mal said firmly.

"I didn't know the city would be this big. Have you seen one yet?" Maisie sounded more and more excited. "Wait, there's one over there."

"You sure that one's OK? Looks sorta seedy to me," Mal said, frowning a little.

"It looks OK. Anyway, how are we going to know without going in?"

The two entered the shop and looked around in amazement. Plastered on the walls were all sorts of illustrations, from simple Chinese designs and words like "Mother" to nude women in all sorts of positions.

Mal blanched at some of the racier drawings, but he held back from saying something to Maisie. She was so enthusiastic and besides, trying to dampen her enthusiasm would probably earn him more names like 'chicken-heart' and 'big baby' and 'scaredy cat' from Maisie.

"It's just about what I expected," Maisie said brightly. "It looks clean and hygienic to me, that's important."

"You really sure you want to do this?" An uncharacteristic hesitation crept into his speech.

"You promised." Maisie gave him a slightly pleading look. "I've got the design all laid out. Come on. I'll even go first. I think I'll get it put on my arm so everybody'll see it."

Mal sighed. He never could deny his mei mei anything. "Don't want it on my arm. Want it somewhere where only I know where it is. Like I said last night, on my hip. No one but me'll see it unless I want'em to."

About that time a muscular, bearded man approached the two, limping slightly. He was wearing a white apron over his shirt and pants. He wiped his hands on a clean towel as he came towards them.

"Can I help you? Name's Roger Wang. I'm the proprietor here." He stuck out his hand in the traditional way of a proprietor greeting a new customer.

Maisie piped up "We both want a tattoo, I've got the design right here." She thrust the paper into the man's outstretched hand. It was covered with a stylized kanji.

He studied the paper for a moment. "Looks pretty simple. The kanji for Shadow, huh? Guess you two must be some of the volunteers from the camp outside of town."

"Yes sir, we are." Maisie said with a proud air as she instinctively straightened her shoulders and stood as tall as her five foot two height would let her. "We want everyone to know where we're from."

"That right huh? Glad you two are gonna fight for the Independent cause. I'd be there myself if it wasn't for this bum knee." He got a faraway look in his eyes. "Where you want these tattoos?"

"I want mine on my right arm so that when I roll up my sleeve it'll be there."

"And you?"

"On my hip."

"Don't do many on the hip these days. Most want their tattoos where it'll show. Like to show off the art work. Now that I got an idea what you want, I can give you a price. Tell you what, since you're such fine upstanding young Browncoats, I'll give you a discount. How about 10 credits for both? If you want laser reversible ink it'll be a bit more."

"Regular ink'll be fine. Don't plan on getting it reversed so 10 credits, it is... You wanna go first, Maisie?" Mal said, as he uncrumpled a few bills from his pants pocket and laid them down on a nearby table.

Wang picked up the bills, smoothed them out and put them in a pocket on his apron. He gestured toward a chair which looked remarkably like a barber chair; Maisie sat down eagerly, taking off her uniform shirt to reveal a sleeveless white undershirt. She laid her small but muscular arm on a padded arm rest attached to the seat.

Wang got out his implements and proceeded to lay them out like a surgeon. "Every thing's sterilized and sanitized, not that you're askin'. Gotta a brand new laser tattoo system from Osiris 'bout eight months ago. Faster, sharper detail and it heals better."

Taking Maisie's arm in his hands, Wang took a long look at her upper arm, mentally laying out the design. He them showed her where he planned to put the tattoo. "That the right spot?" Maisie nodded yes, her mouth shut tight. Wang traced the design from Maisie's paper onto her arm. "Take a look. That what you want?" Maisie nodded yes again.

"Now I need you to put on these glasses and hold your arm out while I put some of this ointment on your arm. It'll help keep the pain down." Wang coated her upper arm with ointment from a tube he had laid out with his other implements.

"It's cold." She shivered as she slipped the glasses over her eyes.

"It'll take away a bit of the pain. You still feel more than a bit, but it helps."

The proprietor put on his own protective glasses before he flipped a couple of switches on the machine next to her. A curious whine filled the room and Wang pulled pulled a snake like tube over to her arm.

He traced the pattern of the kanji expertly onto her arm. The skin reddened and then darkened with the stain of the ink. As the design took shape he asked, "Am I hurtin' you?"

"It's bearable. No worse 'n one of Mal's Indian burns. 'Spect I'll feel worse later if I get shot," Maisie answered flippantly, sticking her tongue out at Mal.

"Aw, shut up, Maisie, you ain't ever gonna get shot. You'll shoot 'em first." Mal said, from the stool where he sat watching the process intently.

"You never know what God's got planned" Maisie said, suddenly serious. "Mal, you make sure I get back to Shadow if something happens to me." She looked up at Mal intently.

"Nothin's gonna happen to you. We're gonna drive the Alliance all the way back to Londinium on their _pi guis_and beyond. We'll be on the steps of Parliament by the beginning of December and back home in time for Christmas. If we aren't, I'll give you Janey's next foal. I got plans for the one she just had, but you can have the next."

"What am I goin' to do with a baby horse that I can't ride for at least two years when I'm out here shootin' Purplebellies?"

"Well, you can ride her when she's grown up. Iffen you graduate from that kid's pony you rode last season ," Mal gave her one of his wide, snarky smiles.

"Smokey's not a child's pony. He's the best dang cow horse in three counties." Maisie was getting annoyed with Mal and was even more irritated with him because she couldn't reach him to smack him. She was at her breaking point when the parlor owner pulled the tube from Maisie's arm and cut off the machine.

"All done. I'll cover it with a bandage for right now. Take it off in the next day or two, keep it clean and it should be OK." He took a deep breath hoping that his customers wouldn't come to blows. "You ready?"

"I reckon. Maisie, why don't you go in the other room while I get this done? Don't want your maidenly eyes to see somethin' they ain't supposed to see."

"Malcolm Reynolds, I've seen you skinny dippin' in the pond before, so what's to see?" Maisie broke into a knowing smile and her eyes squinted shut with glee. "If I remember right last summer your clothes disappeared while you were swimming and you had to run from the pond and across the barn yard naked as a jay bird. Not that I actually saw but I heard all about it. All about it."

Her laugh grew from nothing more than a little twitter to a full body shaking laugh. She had trouble composing herself enough to get the words out. "Didn't you ever wonder how those clothes up and walked away?"

Mal's face crimsoned in remembered embarrassment. "That was you? I tried for weeks to figure out who it was. And it was you! I should have known. Always messin' around and doin' stupid stuff that you think's funny. That was down right embrassin'. Something like that's gonna be the end of you one day. You'd do anything if you thought it was funny. You get on outta here Maisie Linn or I'll wear you out."

Maisie left with a gleeful smirk on her face and waited in a chair on the porch in front of the parlor for what seemed like an hour. She paced back and forth, wondering suddenly if maybe she hadn't ought to have bullied Mal into this. Well, too late now.

All of a sudden the whirring sound of the laser tattoo machine stopped. About five minutes later Mal emerged from the building, carrying his leg a little funny, and still looking tight around the mouth when he saw Maisie. He nodded brusquely at her.

"You still mad at me for stealin' your clothes or for makin' you get a tattoo? I just couldn't resist stealin' them clothes – they were just askin' to be stole, sittin' on that rock, all by their lonesome. Had to be really sneaky, made sure you didn't see me.

Maisie looked so proud of her exploit that Mal couldn't be mad at her any longer.

"I forgive you. I guess I forgive you." She could always bring him around no matter what she did.

Maisie gave him a quick peck on the check. "You'll always be my _ge ge_ no matter what."

Later that night Mal's right thigh was on fire. It hurt more than he cared to admit and he had a sudden sympathy for every calf he'd ever branded. _Wo de ma_, is this what that had felt like to those little critters? He'd have something to think about come branding time.

He was beginning to regret what he'd let Maisie talk him into getting a tattoo. . But then he reconsidered a bit. This was something that would remain with him for the rest of his life. And if the Alliance were to get a hold of him somehow, they would be no doubt where his heart was. On his backside – well, all right, not on his backside, but at least right where they couldn't miss it.


End file.
